Iraq leads global push to empty Syria’s al-Hol camp at New York conference

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq has sent out invitations to all countries that have nationals at northern Syria’s al-Hol camp to attend an international conference in New York next September in a bid to discuss mechanisms to empty and subsequently dismantle the notorious facility.

Iraq has repeatedly expressed its serious concerns that al-Hol is a threat to its national security.

Al-Hol camp in Hasaka province is infamous for its squalid conditions and has been branded a breeding ground for terrorism. Iraqis and Syrians make up the majority of the nearly 40,000 ISIS-linked people who have been held at the camp since the defeat of the group in 2019. There are also people in the camp from around the world who had traveled to join the so-called ISIS caliphate.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein has sent out an invitation to “all countries with nationals in al-Hol camp,” Chargé d'Affaires at the Embassy of Iraq in Damascus, Yassin Sharif al-Hujaimi, told Rudaw on Wednesday.
 
Hujaimi said the camp acts as a “ticking bomb,” to Iraqi national security.

The camp is under the administration of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), but it is believed that ISIS runs much of the camp and thus it is considered the most dangerous refugee camp in the world. Every year, a significant number of incidents such as torture, killings, and threats occur among the camp residents, according to the camp management.

The conference is set to take place on September 26 on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

Hujaimi confirmed the participation of more than 30 countries in the conference.

Iraq has been repatriating its citizens from the camps in groups and providing rehabilitation. Baghdad's aim is to encourage more countries to follow suit.

Other countries, however, remain reluctant to take back their nationals over fears of extremist ideology spreading at home.

Baghdad has set a goal of repatriating all Iraqi citizens from camps in Rojava by 2027.